cariocas are extremely positive and optimistic, always wanting to make others feel good and usually believing that anything is possible - moreover, by an interesting linguistic quirk, they almost never use the word 'yes,' or even the word 'no', when asked if they want to go out for dinner they will likely respond, 'vamos!', which means 'let's go!' or 'pode ser!', which means 'perhaps'.

when asked them if they like something they will say 'gosto', meaning ' i like it', with a particular intonate, avoiding a direct 'yes' - according to some, one plausible explanation for this is that cariocas like to keep possibilities open.

cariocas prefer not being confined, whether it be by social conventions, the indoors, or fixed plans - the word yes, is consciously or unconsciously felt to be a constraint, a sort of shackle that is not creative or open, but fixed and closed.